Dawn Curran walked the perimeter of Our Lady of Good Counsel church Tuesday afternoon looking for a way in.

Curran, a 3-year member of the Catholic, Uptown church on Louisiana Avenue, had a look of dread on her face when she found every door locked.

There was little movement around the church, aside from a television news truck parked across the street and a cameraman setting up equipment for a 5 p.m. stand-up.

She tried the door facing the parking lot and got a soft response from the other side.

"Go to the door at Chestnut Street," the voice said. Relieved, Curran walked around the rear of the now quiet church to start her three- hour "vigil" at Our Lady of Good Counsel, which is slated for closure.

Curran was there to replace Barbara Fortier, the calm voice on the other side of the door and a 22-year member of OLGC who spent her afternoon fulfilling her shift.

Fortier and Curran dressed comfortably in warm sweaters for their time in the church. Both reflected a somber mood as they exchanged greetings, which echoed in the dark, empty building.

The women are two of as many as 150 other parishioners who have signed up to continue their around-the-clock occupation, or vigil, as Fortier prefers to call it, in hopes of keeping their church open.

They've seen it done at nearby St. Augustine Catholic Church on Gov. Nicholls Street, Fortier said. St. Augustine was scheduled to close in 2006, but Archbishop Alfred Hughes changed his mind after members of that church held 24-hour vigils, Fortier said.

"That's something successful we have to go by," she said.

Lauren Wilbert / NOLA.com producerAcross the street from Our Lady of Good Counsel, a banner urges parishoners to write to Archbishop Alfred Hughes to stop the church's closing.

Parishioners have plenty to reflect on today as they occupy the church - the parish learned Tuesday morning that a judge rejected a case to keep the church open.

Civil District Court Judge Kern Reese explained to church members, four of whom brought a civil suit to court to try to stop their church's closing, that they were in fact not members of the legal congregation. Under the legal definition, the congregation includes the archbishop, his vicar general, OLGC's pastor, the Rev. Pat Collum, and two (empty) layman seats.

For members like Fortier - who attended the Tuesday morning ruling - the decision was tough to take.

"As members of this congregation, we are third-body members of this church," Fortier said. "It's like all they want is money in the basket. What other purpose is there for the people, then?"

As of now, the OLGC occupation timeline remains open ended. Church members plan to fill three-hour slots during the day and longer hours for all-night vigils indefinitely. A set of pillows and blankets sit folded at the front of the church, presumably for the night-time occupants.

"If we were a dead parish, we wouldn't have people signing up for this," she said. "We'll be here until the archbishop is willing to talk to us."

Fortier said she does not plan to attend masses at St. Stephen's Church on Napoleon Avenue, the parish that the Archdiocese of New Orleans picked to take in OLGC members.